Separation and Removal of Radionuclide Cesium from Water by Biodegradable Magnetic Prussian Blue Nanospheres

Abstract

As the main component of radioactive wastewater, the cesium ion has seriously endangered the environment and human health. Prussian blue nanoparticles (PB NPs) are used as adsorbents for the purification of cesium-containing wastewater because of their ability to selectively adsorb cesium ions. In this work, novel magnetic Prussian blue nanospheres (MPBNs) were developed from polylactic acid nanospheres as a carrier, loaded with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) inside and PB NPs outside for the removal of cesium ions with the help of magnetic separation. Meanwhile, the effects on the adsorption efficiency of MPBNs, such as pH, time, temperature and initial concentration of cesium ion solution, were studied. The adsorption isotherms, kinetic models and adsorption thermodynamics were investigated to research the absorption mechanism. The results showed that MPBNs were spherical with a rough surface, and their particle size, iron content and saturation magnetization were 268.2 ± 1.4 nm, 40.01% and 41.71 emu/g, which can be recovered by magnetic separation. At 293 K, MPBNs could reduce the cesium ion solution from 40 mg/L to 4.8 mg/L, and its cesium ion removal rate and adsorption capacity were 82.46% and 16.49 mg/g, respectively. The optimum pH of MPBNs for cesium ion adsorption was 5~9, the adsorption equilibrium time was 60 min, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 17.03 mg/g. In addition, MPBNs were separated rapidly by an external magnetic field, and the adsorption process was an endothermic reaction. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics of MPBNs were in accordance with the Freundlich model and quasi-second-order fitting model, respectively, and the adsorption process of MPBNs was controlled by the diffusion step in particles. Notably, these MPBNs could be effectively separated from water by a magnetic field, facilitating engineering applications in cesium-containing wastewater.

Yeast—As Bioremediator of Silver-Containing Synthetic Effluents

“…Generally, at low pH values, competition of metal ions with H + ions in the solution may occur [ 48 ]. At the same time, relatively high efficiency of silver ion removal at pH 2.0 can be explained by their binding to amino groups [ 49 ].…”

Application of alkali-activated cements for immobilization of dry low-level radioactive waste containing copper ferrocyanide

“…Using the three-factor simplex central plan, mathematical models (7), (8) and isoparametric surfaces of response functions (Fig. 4) of the influence of the varied factors on changes in the radiation activity of composites after 7 and 28 days of curing:…”

“…The most common methods of cesium ion extraction are adsorption, ion exchange, chemical precipitation, chemical reduction, membrane technologies, coagulation, extraction, ion flotation [3][4][5][6]. Adsorption methods have become the most widely used in liquid radioactive waste decontamination technologies due to a wide range of adsorbents, process efficiency, simple technology and a wide range of applications [7]. The most effective sorbents for cesium extraction are ferrocyanide sorbents (synthetic materials based on iron (III), nickel (II), copper (II) and other metals or their mixtures) [8,9].…”

The Interaction of Two Emerging Pollutants, Radionuclides and Microplastics: In-Depth Thermodynamic Studies in Water, Seawater, and Wastewater

“…In a recent study Feng et al (2023) used Prussian blue nanoparticles-PLA mixtures as adsorbents for the treatment of cesium-containing wastewater and investigated the adsorption thermodynamics, kinetics, and isotherm models [42]. It was found that at 293 K cesium ion adsorption capacity was 16.5 mg g -1 and that the metal ion concentration was reduced from 40 mg L -1 to 4.8 mg L -1 .…”